Style over status

It all started out as an accessory meant to protect luxury designer handbags. Now, it is carried by modern women who prefer “style over status.”

This is the story of Save My Bag, an Italian bag company founded in 2013 by young couple Stefano Agazzi and Valentina Azzia from Bergamo, Italy.

The other half of the creative pair was just in the Philippines to celebrate the arrival of Save My Bag in the country via the new Little White Box store in SM Makati.

In an interview with The Manila Times, Azzia shared the interesting beginning of the bag that has become a favorite of Oprah Winfrey and Sex and the City stylist Patricia Feild. She recalled, “The bag was first used by women from the luxury goods industry whom we hosted at a party. We gave the bags as giveaway and then it rained. So the women—who were carrying the most expensive of handbags—took their bags and put it in inside [our giveaway bag].

Save My Bag’s co-founder Valentina Azzia (second from left) with members of the brand’s international sales team, Betsabe Annibali and Simona Tironi, and SM Accessories’ senior vice president and business unit head John Kenner Chua (left)

“Then they used it on the plane so they can put their expensive bags on the floor, or to the beach, and even the subway [to protect them]. They loved the bags so much so they asked for more. That’s when we decided to make a brand [out of the bag accessory], and why we decided to call it Save My Bag.”

Breakthrough material
While it may be fate that made Save My Bag a brand of its own, there is a more precise reason why it is such a breakthrough in fashion today. The bags in the range utilize poly-lycra, a combination of polychloroprene and lycra.

According to Azzia, lycra is basically the cloth used in the bathing suits while polychloroprene is a material similar

to neoprene but is a lot lighter and less expensive. Together, poly-lycra makes Save my Bag sturdier, more flexible, and even washable so that it can be used in any weather and condition.

These of course are the very features that women loved most about the brand. Azzia explained, “Women like to use it as a standalone bags because they’re very light. They’re also very good for your shoulders because they each weigh less than a bottle of water.

“Us women also love to pack our bags with as many items as possible. With Save my Bags, you can put a lot of things inside, even a leather jacket or a beach towel, and the bag won’t lose its shape,” the lady behind the label added.

In terms of design, Save my Bag is also a standout because of its trademark style, the “Icon” which comes in solid colors of bright pink, electric yellow, deep burgundy and ocean blue, among others, with bow details and metal finishes that all come out together very fashionably. There are also monochrome, cartoon and leopard prints to choose from.

“I believe nowadays, it’s more about the style that you have than the status of carrying a brand,” Azzia enthused. “Save My Bag fits that very well because it is a product that is entirely made in Italy—everything from the fabric to the stitch—but it is affordable so that every woman can have it.”

Inside White Box
Save My Bag is the first featured brand of Little White Box, a new concept store at SM Makati that will carry bags and accessories from global brands. Designed by architect and artist Carlo Calma, the store makes for a modern and posh shopping experience.

“Little White Box is our partner in the Philippines. We are very selective in the distribution of Save My Bag because it’s the kind of bag that you really have to understand. I believe Little White Box can understand us and interpret us in the right way for the Philippine market,” Azzia shared.

Asked why they decided to expand in the Philippines, Azzia replied, “We are expanding worldwide and we have women from every country in the world asking for it [Save My Bag].”

The poly-lycra wonder in every color imaginable

But more than this, she revealed being half Asian was also a deciding factor in this latest move. “I’m half Asian so this is a great place to be in,” said the businesswoman who is actually half-Italian and half-Thai.

After the Philippines, Save My Bag will soon be available in Indonesia and Thailand. It already has a flagship store in Japan where it is further distributed in 15 stores, as well as 20 stores in Korea.